Tray type carrier



March 11, 1958 K. K. HUDSON TRAY TYPE CARRIER Filed May 3, 1954 UnitedStates Patent TRAY TYPE CARRIER Kenneth K. Hudson, Tampa, Fla.

Application May 3, 1954, Serial No. 427,302

1 Claim. (Cl. 220-95) My present invention has for its primary objectproviding a molded dual purpose bottle case of unique arrangement thatcan be filled at the bottling plant by a standard case filler, and canbe used for two-handed carrying as a delivery case from bottling plantto retail store, and also for single-handed carrying as a package casefrom retail store by the customer. My invention relates particularly toa handle construction especially intended for use in the sort of casementioned, but also capable of. being used in any sort of a carrier inwhich an extendable and retractable handle is desirable.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for keeping the topof the handle flush with the top of the case, in order to stack thecases in as small a space as possible, and also in alignment with thesides of the mid-rib, so as to permit the loading of the case with acommercial straight-line case filler. Still another object is to providemeans for keeping the handle flush with the top of the empty case evenwhen inverted, thereby making it possible to stack the cases with theopen side down. The construction and operation are described withreference to the usual upright position of the carrier, but it will beunderstood that the use of such terms as up and down and theirderivatives in the description and claims is for brevity, down referringto the direction the handle moves to retract, and up to the direction itmoves to extend. The mechanism works to retract the handle automaticallywhether the carrier is right side up, or on its side, or upside down.

With these purposes in mind I describe and illustrate a preferred formof my invention, it being understood that the form shown is illustrativeand not limiting, and that the principles thereof can be applied inmodified forms and other suitable materials.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bottle carrying case embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial central longitudinal vertical sectiontaken on plane 2-2 of Fig. showing the related details of constructionof my handle and case with the handle in carrying position, only one endbeing shown, because the ends are symmetrical;

Fig. 3 is on the same plane as Fig. 2, but showing the handle retracted;

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section on plane 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section on plane 5-5 of Fig. 3.

The case shown in Fig. 1, made of molded plastic, has extended ledges 11at each end flush with the top of the case, providing handles fortwo-handed lifting for store delivery and has a central longitudinalvertical rib 12 the Patented Mar. 11, 1958 full height of the case,besides the usual bottle positioning ribs 14.

The mid-length of the rib 12 is lowered as at 16 to seat a handle grip18 and further lowered as at 17 between the seats 16, to provide fingerspace, and also closed from 16 to 17, as at 19. The handle constructioncomprises the grip 18 preferably of solid molded material, and no widerthan the top of the rib 12, carrying a spring wire shaped as aflat-based inverted U when puled up as in Fig. 2 and stressed to spreadby its own resiliency into the position of Fig. 3 when released.

The middle part 20 of the wire is imbedded lengthwise in the grip 18while each leg portion 21, one at each end, sweeps down in a longoutward curve terminating in hook 22.

The central longitudinal rib 12 is hollow, open at bottom 13 and closedat top, 14 and 17, all as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, to receive the wirelegs 21. A short flange 27 goes down into the space between the sides ofrib 12 near each end of the finger recess, but spaced along the rib fromthe closure 16, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A notch 29 in flange 27 andcentral with rib 12 and only slightly wider than the wire leg 21, guidesthe wire to seat the grip 18 in the lower position in alignment with rib12, so that the grip will not interfere with loading bottles into thecase. This notch 29 also receives the hook 22 to carry the load when thehandle is up, see Fig. 2. When the grip is pulled up, the wire leg 21slides up until the hook catches in the notch, and when the grip isreleased the resiliency of the wire causes a spreading action pullingthe grip down to the position of Fig. 3. As seen in Figs. 2 and 3, theshape of the stressed wire leg causes an angular contact with the edgeof the flange 27, in the notch 29, resulting in a constant tendency ofthe leg to force itself downward.

It will be understood the foregoing is the preferred form illustratingthe application of the principles of my invention, and that it may beused in modified forms, its scope being defined by the claim.

I claim:

In a tray type carrier, a vertical interior rib formed of twospaced-apart parallel walls with a top connection, a hand-grip-receivingdepression in said rib, a short vertical flange depending from said topconnection at each end of said depression, and an opening below saidflange into said inter-rib space, a movable hand grip aligned with saidrib and adapted to seat in said depression, outwardly and downwardlystressed spring legs. secured to each end of said hand grip, and eachcontacting the lower edge of its respective flange at an angle greaterthan the angle at which friction between said leg and said guide willcause said leg to remain stationary against said flange, whereby eachleg constantly tends to force itself into a position to seat and holdsaid hand grip in said depression regardless of the position of thecarrier.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.142,783 Jacobson Nov. 6, 1945 1,757,475 Pratt May 6, 1930 2,109,034Seifer Feb. 22, 1938 2,339,168 Hutchings Jan. 11, 1944 2,609,137Toensmeier Sept. 2, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 311,517 Germany Mar. 29, 1919

